Replacing Rusty Welder Housings

• High impact strength

• Weatherable

Plastics consulting company, Commercial Plastics, Inc. (now a subsidiary of GE Polymer Shapes), was asked to suggest internal insulation material for electric welders made by ESAB North America, Florence, SC. Kydex T, manufactured by Kleerdex Inc., was suggested as a single-piece alternative to metal brackets insulated by NOMEX. 

While working on the project, Joel Futrell, manager of Commercial Plastics, noticed another problem. Powder-coated metal housings on the welding units would begin to rust and peel in as little as 4 to 6 months of exposure to the corrosive salt air of shipyards and offshore drilling platforms where they are used. “ESAB Welders had a real tough life on the waterfront,” Futrell explains. “The welders got plenty of bangs and dents and rough handling—they were out in the weather all the time. The rough handling would open cracks in the coating. Then the salt air did the rest. In a few months these units could be a sorry sight indeed.”

Futrell suggested Kydex 510 sheet as a durable but economical alternative. The weatherable sheet with acrylic capping boasts an impact rating of 18 ft/lbs/in. at 73°F as determined by the ASTM D-256 test, and a UL Std 94 V-0 flammability rating. The material is also abrasion/wear resistant, and its low moisture absorption is suited for marine environments. The material can be drilled, brake-formed or punch pressed with standard woodworking and metalworking tools. 

“Then came the real clincher,” Futrell adds, “We informed ESAB that Kydex sheet could be formulated in a color that matched the special ESAB yellow then in use on all products.” That meant that the outside of the welders could be plastic and no coating that could degrade or allow corrosion was involved. In turn, this saved the time and effort formerly required for powder coating.

For more information:
GE Polymer Shapes, Columbia, SC. www.rsleads.com/204df-187

Kleerdex Inc, Aiken, SC. www.rsleads.com/204df-188